The Price of Power
by SymmetryLocked
Summary: Years have passed, and Death the Kid is now a full Shinigami. He has gained new powers that others would die for. However, there are new rules he is forced to follow. When an unexpected incident occurs, will Kid be able to save the soul of someone he holds dear? Or will he be forced to do the duty of a true Shinigami and pay the price? KID'S CHOICE!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A New Shinigami

**A/N: Hello! :) This is my first fanfic. Tell me what you think! Please Enjoy! :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Soul Eater. Soul Eater is owned by Atsushi Ohkubo. Cover art is by Boomshiekia** .

"I am Death."

Death the Kid looked at his face in the mirror. He still couldn't quite grasp this fact. His black bangs were slightly longer now, and the three white lines that had once covered half of his hair were now stretched fully across. He would've been pleased with his new-found symmetry, if he had not known the full implications of those three white stripes. He was the new Shinigami-sama, the Leader of Death City. He had gained the powers and responsibilities. There was no one to guide him now; he was on his own.

"I am a true Shinigami."

Kid gently lifted the white skeleton-shaped mask in his hand over his face and stared into the mirror. With the mask and the black cloak, it was almost as if his father, the previous Shinigami-sama, was staring at him, welcoming him home with his usual, "Hey there Kiddo, how ya doin?". Kid sighed and removed the mask. The mask and the cloak were the only remnants of his father that he had left. They were passed down from the previous Shinigami-samas, and now they rested with him. He was the only Shinigami left, now that his father was gone. He was alone. But Kid was just that, only a kid. He wasn't ready for this. Not yet.

Sighing once more, Kid went and sat down on the side of his bed, carefully laid the mask next to him, leaned his arms onto his knees, and covered his face with his hands.

"Kid?"

The door to Kid's room slowly creaked open. Two blue-eyed girls were peering inside. The shorter girl with lighter and shorter blonde hair pushed the door open and went inside. The taller girl with longer and darker blonde hair followed, and they stood by Death the Kid.

"You all right, Kid-kun?" The shorter girl asked him, sounding slightly worried.

"I'm fine, Patty." Kid replied without looking up.

"But…you don't look fine." Patty said in her little-kid voice.

Kid sighed, exasperated. "I'm fine, I just… I just saw something horrifically asymmetrical and I'm trying the get the image out of my head. It made my eyes burn."

"Oh okay!" Patty said, cheering up immediately now that she knew it was just one of Kid's symmetry fits.

"Hahaha, Kid-kun you're so funny! Don't cha worry about it, Liz and I'll fix it for ya!" Patty slapped Kid on the back a couple of times, laughed, and then cheerfully skipped away. On the other hand, the taller girl, Liz, sat down next to Kid on the side of the bed, full of concern.

"Are you really alright?" She asked him carefully.

After a short pause, Kid finally admitted, "…No."

"It's alright, Kid." Liz said, patting him on the back with a smile. "Whatever it was that you saw, Patty and I can fix it for you! Just try not to think about it right now and I'm sure you'll feel better!"

Death the Kid finally looked up from his hunched over position. "Thanks, but that's not it…it's about my Dad."

Liz gazed sympathetically at the young Shinigami. "Aww, Kid…" Liz put her arms around him, and pulled him in for a hug. "I'm sure Shinigami-sama is in a better place now."

"It's just…" Kid tried to explain how he was feeling. "Now that my Father is gone, I have all these responsibilities and powers which I barely know the extent of. I...This is hard to handle. Why did he die? I'm still just a kid, I'm not ready. I'll never be as good of a Shinigami as he was." He fought to keep his voice steady.

"I'm so sorry about your Dad, Kid, but we gotta look on the positive side of things, right? You have cool new powers and now everyone looks up to you and admires you! That's good, right? I mean, you're immortal now, and that's pretty awesome. Plus, your hair is finally symmetrical! That's something to be excited about! And, personally, I think you're going to be an even better Shinigami-sama than your father was. I'm sure everyone will love you as the new Leader of Death City." She smiled at him.

Kid weakly tried to smile back. "Thanks, but also, now that Dad's gone, I've been feeling kind of…lonely. I don't really have a family anymore."

Liz was shocked. "How could you think that, Kid? Patty and I are your family now!" She calmed down and ruffled Kid's hair.

"We will always be here for you, Kid. Patty and I will always be here to help you out and fight with you or defend you, or whatever is needed." Liz finally let go of Kid, got up, and walked towards the door; it was getting late.

Before leaving, Liz turned around, grinned, and said, "Never forget that, 'kay?"

"I won't. Thank you Liz." He said sincerely, blushing slightly. Liz exited the room and Kid smiled. He was feeling a little bit better already. Maybe being a true Shinigami wasn't that bad after all.

**A/N: More to come! Please read and review. No flames please. Thank you. :3**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Rules and Worry

**A/N: Big thanks to my readers! :) The first part of this chapter is a flashback, after the horizontal line it goes back to normal. Please enjoy! :3 **

"Kid, it's time for you to learn something important."

"What is it, Daddy?"

Shinigami-sama, a tall figure with his face covered by a skeleton shaped mask and his body surrounded by a wavy black cloak, was standing in his room, gazing at his special mirror that allowed him to communicate with other people in Death City. He had called in his young son, Death the Kid. Kid was around 9 years old and mature enough to understand what Shinigami-sama was about to tell him.

Little Death the Kid entered the room and gazed up at his father with his big golden eyes. The big Shinigami couldn't help noticing how cute his son looked.

"Aww, you're just as cute as ever with those three adorable lines in your hair!" Shinigami-sama gushed.

"Daaad! Stop it! You know I don't like them!" Kid pouted, but when he saw how crest-fallen his father looked at his comment, he changed the subject. "Why did you need me, Daddy?"

"Well Kiddo," The Shinigami bent down so he could meet his son's eye level and hold a more serious conversation with him. "I think you've come of the right age that you should learn the Rules of a Shinigami. Every Shinigami needs to know them."

"But Dad! You said I'm not a true Shinigami yet! I thought that only happens when you die! You're not gonna die for a long time! ...Right?" The young Kid questioned his father.

"Don't worry, Kiddo I wasn't lying. It's just in case something happens and I want you to be prepared, okay?" He ruffled his son's hair. "Anyways, first of all, when you become a true Shinigami, you will be immortal. Shinigamis don't really 'die' in the true sense of the word. They simply move on once the next full Shinigami is ready, or if they would like to move on early, they can."

"You're not gonna move on early are you, Dad?" Kid asked.

"Of course not Kid!" The Shinigami reassured him, and then went on. "Next, you will be given my mask and cloak. Also, the power of all your attacks will be doubled and your weapons will immediately become death scythes."

"Cool!" The little boy shouted excitedly, with a big smile on his face.

"Not so fast Kiddo. Because of this you must give everything you have to try to protect all the people in Death City, and you must try not to kill anyone. Only if it is a dire situation or if you are collecting evil souls is this acceptable. Got it?"

"I got it, Dad." Kid said. Shinigami-sama was surprised that the boy was actually listening.

"Okay, just one last thing. The duty of a Shinigami is to collect the soul of a person once they have died. Luckily, this has changed a bit. You won't have to collect the souls of everyone who has died, only the people within a 30-mile radius of you. Otherwise, it would have been way too much work, but that is why we have so many death scythes to help us out."

"It should be an 88-mile radius..."The boy muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Dad…"

Shinigami-sama continued. "Now this part is important, Kiddo, and I need you to pay close attention. This is how you collect souls. First, time will freeze for everyone but you, and you should be able to see the soul you need to collect clearly. Next, you walk towards it. Soon, you shouldn't be conscious of anything but you and the soul. Then, you take it and put it in your cloak. The soul should be absorbed directly into the cloak at first contact with it."

"What happens to the souls once they are in the cloak, Dad? Then what do you do with them?" Kid questioned curiously.

"Once the current Shinigami moves on, the souls in their cloak that they have collected throughout their lifetime will be released, along with their own." He answered. Shinigami-sama looked Kid square in the eye and tried to place special emphasis on what he was going to say next.

"It is essential that you never refuse to collect a soul, even if the person was a friend of yours. Understand? This will throw off the balance of life and death because of something selfish you refused to do. You must always collect the soul if the person has died. ALWAYS. Do you understand me, Kid?"

"Yes, Dad." Kid answered solemnly.

"Good," The Shinigami said, ruffling the child's hair once more. He smiled. "Well, do you think you've got all of that, Kiddo?"

"I…I think so." Death the Kid replied.

"You won't need to worry about it for awhile, but it's good that you know." Shinigami sighed, looking at his cute son who was glancing up at him with admiration. "Never grow up Kiddo. I love you."

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Liz slowly opened the door to Kid's room and peered inside. Kid was sleeping soundly. Liz gently closed Kid's door once more. She leaned on outside of the door and sighed with relief.

"Whatcha doing, Sis?"

Liz jolted away from the door and saw that Patty was standing in front of her. "Patty, you scared me! Why aren't you asleep?"

"I was going to get a glass of water and then I saw you come over here!" The girl said cheerfully. "Why are you here anyways?" Patty asked suspiciously, grinning like a madman.

"I was just checking in on Kid to make sure he got to sleep okay." Liz replied innocently, trying to ignore any weird thoughts her sister might be thinking. She decided to tell her sister her honest thoughts. "I… I'm a little worried about him, Patty. He seems to be a little bit depressed lately, with the recent shock of his Dad dying and all that. But, anyway, it's late and you should probably go back to bed." Liz tried to usher her sister back to her room.

"Aww, come on Sis! I'm all awake now!" Patty whined. "You're still up; can't I stay up a little longer?"

Liz sighed and gave in to her sister, who looked up at her with big puppy eyes. "Fine."

"Yay!" Patty yelled, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Just try not to wake anybody. Also, it would be nice if you could make something for Kid, maybe something that will cheer him up a little. Something symmetrical. Well, I'm going back to bed. I don't know about you, but I'm tired." Liz yawned.

"Okay!" Patty said, running to her room to grab supplies.

Liz shook her head. "Where does she get all that energy from?" She muttered to herself.

While Patty ran happily back towards her room, Liz still couldn't shake the awful feeling of worry for Kid surrounding her.

**A/N: Plot will begin to pick up a lot in the next chapter. Please stick with me! :3 Read and Review! Constructive criticism accepted, but no flames please. Thank you. :3 **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Shadow of Madness

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I've been really busy lately. :( Anyway, I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer for you guys! Please enjoy! :3**

"Are you two ready to go?" Death the Kid stood by the front door of his house, slightly agitated, waiting for his weapon partners, Liz and Patty.

"Well, I'm ready to head out." Liz stretched her arms, walked over to the door, and stood by Kid. "I don't know what's taking Patty so long though. She's usually the first person out the door, because she's so eager to leave." She rolled her eyes.

As soon as Liz finished talking, a young girl came barreling towards them, screaming, "Kiddo! Kid-kun! I have a present for you! I just finished!" Patty came running towards them at a break-neck speed and Liz braced for the imminent impact, but luckily the girl came to a quick halt right before them. She held something behind her back.

"This is for you, Kid-kun!" Patty showed Kid what she was hiding. It was a huge giraffe made out of cardboard which had been painted yellow and brown.

"I've been working on this all night! And there are 8 spots, see?" Patty jabbed her figure at the spots that had been painted onto the giraffe. "4 on each side, so it's symmetrical, you see?" She smiled.

Liz face palmed. Kid took the giraffe and examined it. "That was…very nice of you, Patty. Thanks." Kid had a genuine smile on his face and Patty grinned back at him.

_Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind when I said to make something for Kid. _Liz thought to herself. _But I guess it did the trick if it made him smile. Nice job, Patty. _

"However, we should probably leave this in the house today. So it doesn't get ruined." Kid handed the giraffe back to Patty.

"Okay!" The girl cheerfully returned the giraffe back into the house.

"Can we go yet?" Liz complained.

"Sure." Kid said and began to walk with Liz.

"Wait for me!" Patty cried, running to catch up with the two.

* * *

After walking for awhile, Liz asked, "So, where are we going anyway?"

"We are going to the Shibusen to see if there are any important missions that we need to take on today. I'm also supposed to check in on the residents of Death City." Kid replied.

"Hey look, we're here!" Patty exclaimed. The trio glanced up and saw the huge and elaborately designed school known as the Shibusen looming over their heads. They also spotted two kids chatting by the front of the school, one had spiky blue hair, and the other was a very tall girl with her dark hair swept up into a high ponytail.

"Black Star! Tsubaki!" Patty shouted to them as her form of a greeting. Tsubaki waved and Black Star crossed his arms with a big scowl on his face. The three walked over to them. Black Star just stood there looking permanently pissed off, while the girl, Tsubaki, greeted them politely.

"Hello Liz, Patty, and Kid-sama." She said quietly.

Death the Kid frowned slightly, then explained, "You can still call me Kid. I'd rather you did, actually. I'm not quite used to this whole Shinigami thing anyway." He shrugged.

Tsubaki corrected herself immediately. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Kid! I just thought that since… you know...Shinigami-sama…" She trailed off.

"Don't worry about it." Kid reassured her.

"Hey Kid there's one thing I want you to get through your tiny head." Black Star, still frustrated, marched over to Kid and stood a few inches away from him. "If you think that now you're a Shinigami or whatever the heck you are, it means you're more powerful than ME, then you're dead wrong!"

_So that's why he's so frustrated_. Liz thought to herself. Black Star's voice grew louder and louder. He pointed to himself with his thumb.

"I'm still number one around here! And you know why? BECAUSE I AM THE MIGHTY BLACK STAR AND I HAVE SURPASSED THE POWERS OF EVEN SHINIGAMIS LIKE YOU! NO ONE CAN BEAT ME! HAHAHAHA!" Black Star broke off into loud, obnoxious laughter. At least he was back to normal now.

Tsubaki sighed, muttering, "Oh Black Star…"

"I had no intent of challenging you, Black Star. Don't worry; I have no intent of stealing your so called 'glory'." Kid replied coolly.

"But he _is_ a very powerful Shinigami now; certainly more powerful than _you_. " Liz said to Black Star, grinning and wanting to see his reaction. He turned to Liz.

"SHUT UP, I'M STILL NUMBER ONE!" While Black Star continued to rant about being the best, Kid talked to Liz.

"Really, Liz? Why provoke him?" Kid asked.

"Come on, Kid, boast a little!" She grinned and put a hand on his shoulder, and Kid's face reddened slightly at the sudden contact. "Plus his reactions are very amusing."

Their interesting conversation was interrupted, however, when a man with red hair, came running up to the group, panting. Everyone stopped their chatter and turned to look.

"Spirit? What are you doing here?" Death the Kid questioned.

"Kid…you are…needed right away…in the death room." Spirit panted, out of breath. "It's very urgent, please come with me!" Kid nodded grimly, taking in the seriousness of the situation.

"Liz! Patty! Let's go!" They briefly said their goodbyes to Black Star and Tsubaki and followed Spirit.

While they were running they could still hear Black Star shouting, "AND LIKE HELL WILL I EVER CALL YOU KID-SAMA!"

* * *

Spirit led the trio to the Death Room where the large mirror that could show anywhere in Death City was located. A grey-haired professor with a screw seemingly going through his head was standing, waiting for them.

"What is it?" They asked.

"Just look in the mirror." Spirit replied, still gasping for breath. Death the Kid and the two girls glanced hesitantly at the special mirror. A horrible sight awaited them.

The mirror showed a large pure black blob coating houses and people. Most people who had been touched by the blackness immediately fell to the ground. Others looked as if they have gone insane. Houses began to crumble and fall, all because of the strange black substance. It grew and spread and appeared to grow larger and larger, as if it would coat the world in darkness.

"Wh-What is that?" Liz asked shakily, visibly frightened. Even Patty looked horrified.

"It's called the Kishin's Shadow." The professor, Stein, explained. "Not much is known about it, but it is apparently the aftermath of defeating the Kishin. I suppose the best way to explain it is like a sort of leftover madness from the Kishin that seeks to infect or kill others while in the form of a black blood type substance. Like I said, we don't have very much info on it, so we don't know exactly what it is capable of. "

"What would you like me to do?" Kid asked.

"We want you to go after it. Since you are a Shinigami, we figure you have a higher chance of surviving than the other kids. Though you are supposed to be immortal, there is a very high chance this could severely injure you."

"What about us?" Patty said.

"As long as you girls stay in weapon form, you should be okay for the most part. Do you think you guys can handle this?" Stein said.

"Of course we can." Kid replied.

"Yep!" Patty replied, always the optimist.

"I…I guess so." Liz said, still very unsure.

"Oh and one more thing," Stein added, "Maka and Soul were out on a mission around that area, when the Kishin's Shadow showed up. You need to make sure they come back to the Shibusen before they get badly hurt."

"Please, please make sure my little Maka doesn't get hurt!" Spirit begged the kids like the overprotective father that he was.

"I will never let my friends get hurt." Kid said grimly. Liz looked at Kid in surprise because of his dead serious voice.

"Well, I suppose we should get a move on before anyone gets seriously hurt, right? Come on, I wanna get this over with." Liz sighed. "Why do we always get the creepy missions?" She muttered.

"Right, we should go." Kid nodded in agreement. "Liz. Patty." Right on cue, the two girls transformed into weapons, two matching guns, and Kid held one in each of his hands. "Let's do this."

Kid took out his flying skateboard, Beezlebub, and took off riding it.

"We're counting on you! Make sure Maka's safe!" Spirit shouted.

"Good luck you three." Stein called out as Kid left. "You'll need it." He added. However, it was going to take a lot more than luck to win this battle.

**A/N: Please Read and Review! Oh and in Japan, adding -sama at the end of a name adds a lot more respect for those who didn't know! Quick shoutout to my reviewers: author-144, uuuu, Confetti108, and I'm Just a Girl. So whatAnime! You guys are the best! :D Big thanks to anyone who faved or followed as well! And, no flames please. Thank you! :3 **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Fighting the Impulse

**A/N: I'm back! :) Sorry for another late update! I'll be faster next time! So, Kid's epic battle with the Kishin's Shadow begins in this chapter! Hope you enjoy! :3 Oh, and reviews put a smile on my face and encourage me to update faster! :) Alright, let's go! **

When the gang arrived at the small town, the air was thick with chaos. The sky was an eerie dark purple and people were running about, frantic. Kid could feel the madness echoing throughout the town. The Kishin's Shadow was definitely somewhere close.

"Kid…" Liz said nervously, transforming back into human form and clutching Kid's arm tightly. "I don't like it here…" She looked around, visibly frightened.

Kid sighed. "It'll be alright, don't worry about it. We just have to defeat this thing and then we can get out of here. And, Liz?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you please return to weapon form now?" Kid said, already starting to feel off with a gun only in his left hand.

"Oh, right. Sorry…" Liz said quickly, a redness growing on her cheeks noticing she was still holding Kid's arm. She quickly obliged and transformed back into a gun.

Although throughout the years Death the Kid's OCD had been slowly improving, he still disliked asymmetrical things and freaked out if he stared at one for too long. Though he usually was able to remain calm, sometime his OCD would come back at full-force when he least expected it and render him incapable of completing a task.

"Hey look over there!" Patty called out.

Kid quickly turned his head and saw a young girl with her hair in pigtails with her arm around a white-haired boy who appeared to be badly injured. He was leaning on her and holding on to her hand, she held him up and supported him so he was able to walk.

"Maka! Soul!" Kid shouted, spotting the two kids they were sent to rescue, and running to their side. "What happened? Are you guys okay?"

Maka slowly nodded her head. "I-I'm fine, but Soul got hit rather badly." Kid looked over at Soul. He was barely conscious, leaning on Maka, and his entire right side was soaked in the deep red color of blood. Maka locked her green eyes onto Kid's golden ones and Kid could see the concern that was written all over her face. "I'm worried about him, Kid. I need to get him to a doctor, right away. But, I can't just let that- that _thing_ run loose. It could destroy the town."

"I know." Kid nodded grimly. "That's where I come in. Your priority right now should be just to get Soul to a hospital so the bleeding will stop. Liz, Patty, and I were sent here to take over your mission and stop that monster known as the Kishin's Shadow. It should be slightly easier for me, as I am a Shinigami. I'm glad you're alright, Maka, but you need to go and get help for Soul immediately."

"Right." Maka knew there was no time to lose.

"But Maka," Kid began, full of curiosity, "how come you are barley injured at all?"

The girl briefly glanced at her own body and noticed there were hardly any injuries present. Her eyes widened. She shook her head. "I really don't know. Though it felt like I got beat up just as much as Soul did, for some reason, Soul ended up with the most prominent injuries." She looked at her partner with sad eyes and tightened her grip on his shoulder.

"I have to go. Good luck, guys." Maka said. Soul transformed into a scythe so he would be easy to carry and Maka ran off, sprinting back towards the Shibusen.

"That didn't reassure me at all…" Liz complained.

"Don't worry, I won't allow that monster to hurt you."

Liz would've smiled if she was in her human form. She felt a bit better.

Kid walked toward the black monster he spotted and stood in front of it. His long, black Shinigami cloak flowed around him.

"Prepare to meet your fate." He said to the monster. Kid began firing multiple blasts of energy at the Kishin's Shadow using his guns, but it appeared to have no effect.

"Damn." Kid muttered. "Not strong enough." He fired at the blackness some more, but it suddenly began to change its shape. The Shadow stretched upwards and began to slowly take the form of what looked something like a man. It was pitch-black and featureless though. And symmetrical. Perfectly symmetrical.

Kid was petrified. His OCD began to have its affect. "Liz. Patty. I can't fight him! Just look at how perfectly symme-" Kid was cut off by a blast of a black blood looking substance being shot straight into his stomach. Kid keeled over onto his knees and began to cough up some blood.

"Kid!" Both of the girls cried out in horror. They began to change back to their human forms.

"Both of you stop it! I'm fine!" Kid choked out. He was hard to believe when he was still coughing up blood. "Return to your weapon forms! Now! You are going to get hurt!"

Reluctantly, the two girls listened to their meister and once again took the form of weapons. The creature sent out more shots of black blood towards the young Shinigami, but after clambering to his feet he dove out of the way just in time. He got up again muttering, "Why is it so symmetrical…" and half-heartedly fired more shots towards the Shadow.

"Kid! Now you listen to me!" Liz cried in desperation. "No matter what that thing looks like you must fight it with everything you've got! No holding back! I don't care how freaking symmetrical it is! Whatever it is you're feeling right now just forget about it! Fight the impulse to resist and kill that thing now!"

Death the Kid grit his teeth. "You're right. Liz, Patty, Soul Resonance!"

"Okay!" Patty said. The girls and the Shinigami changed the level of their wavelengths until they were all perfectly matched. Kid's huge soul was visible and it surrounded him like a dark aura. His previous injury had already almost completely healed. The pistols Liz and Patty had previously been became much larger and longer.

"Death cannon." Kid stated. He fired with full force this time, the blasts much bigger and more powerful. They came towards the Kishin's Shadow at a rapid succession. The creature made a horrid noise as if it was crying out in pain and began to shrink little by little.

"Yay! It's working!" Patty said cheerfully. She spoke too soon. As if it heard her, the creature lashed out at Kid, and although Kid himself managed to skillfully avoid its attack, one of his weapons didn't.

"Ahh!" Liz cried from the impact. The weapon in Kid's right hand began to spurt a large amount of blood.

"Liz!" Both Patty and Kid cried.

"I- I'm …alright." However, her voice was filled with pain. It hurt even to speak. Kid glanced down at the weapon and looked at Liz's reflection.

"Are you sure?" Kid asked carefully.

"I'm fine!" It was painfully obvious that she was lying, she sounded like with every word she spoke, a dagger went into her. "Just… keep fighting…don't worry about me. Just keep fighting, Kid!" She said, wincing.

Kid was torn. He wanted to stop and help Liz, but he also needed to stop the Kishin's Shadow. He looked at the Shadow, which was symmetrical, and thought that he must ignore its perfection and destroy it. He glanced down at his weapons, one with a large gash and the other without, making them asymmetrical, and thought how he must ignore how off balance he felt and keep going. Symmetrical. Asymmetrical. Balanced. Unbalanced. Just for a second he couldn't differentiate between the two. His world was spinning and he wanted to vomit. His OCD was affecting him with full force.

Keep fighting, she had said. He had to keep fighting not only the Kishin's Shadow, but his own OCD as well. Fight the impulses that threatened to strangle him. Only he didn't know if he had enough strength left to do it.

**A/N: And so the drama ensues! And I begin to be mean to the characters! Sorry, it had to be done! So anyway, guys, please, please check out my other story I just started, Random Soul Eater Oneshots! Oh, and don' t forget to also check out author-144's story Soul Eater Couples too! Her oneshots are awesome! So please read and review all 3 of these stories! Thank you guys! :3**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Dreadful Mistake

**A/N: I'm back! :3 Wow, thank you all for your lovely reviews; it made my day! :) I'm one of those people who get ecstatic when I get even one new follower or review! :D And, also, 8 favs and 8 follows! Death the Kid would be proud! So, anyway, thank you all; you are all amazing! :D In this chapter, we learn more about the Kishin's Shadow. Please enjoy, and continue to read, review, follow or fav! :3 **

Maka ran back to the Shibusen with Soul bleeding in her arms. She was greeted at the entrance by two familiar faces, a welcome sight for the overwhelmed girl. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was her father and the professor.

"Papa! Stein!" Maka called out. She ran up to them, panting; she had sprinted the whole way there.

"Maka!" Spirit called out. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" He gripped her shoulders and looked at her. "You're covered in blood!" He cried out. "What did that thing do to you, I'll go down there and hunt it myself if I have to-"

"But it's not mine!" Maka interrupted her dad, who glanced at her in confusion. "It's Soul's blood! You have to help him!"

Stein stepped in. "Give him to me." He said. Reluctantly, Maka gently handed the scythe to Stein. "I'll take care of this." Stein said, rushing off to find the doctor's office, so he could help Soul.

Maka was near tears. While Stein ran off, her dad pulled her in for a hug, and for once in her life she didn't pull away from him. She needed it.

* * *

Not too much later, Soul was sleeping soundly in a bed in the infirmary at school, still very much alive, just unconscious at the moment. Stein had managed to stitch him back up, so the bleeding had stopped. Maka sat in a chair by his bed, while Stein and Spirit were also standing nearby.

"Will Soul be okay?" Maka asked Stein nervously.

"He should be fully recovered in a few days, possibly a week or so." He answered.

Maka whispered a grateful, "Thank you…"

"So Maka," The professor began, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "How is it that you came out of there unscathed, while Soul was barely clinging to his life?"

She sighed, "Kid actually asked me the same thing earlier. I don't know. You tell me." She looked at Stein in defiance. "What is that thing and why didn't it affect me? I swear that monster beat me up as much as Soul, though I'm barely even hurt."

"Interesting…" Stein muttered.

"I remember Kid called it a 'Kishin's Shadow'." She continued. "What is it exactly? Why did it only hurt Soul?" Maka crossed her arms and awaited her explanation.

Spirit decided to enter the conversation. "Here's the truth: no one knows. All we know is that Shinigami-sama briefly mentioned a possible aftermath of the Kishin being a monster known as the Kishin's Shadow. However, no one can remember anything about it. It's a form of madness that looks like black blood pretty much."

"So you sent Kid, Liz, and Patty out there because you think they can handle this?"

"Well, Kid is a Shinigami, so …" Spirit said with a nervous laugh. "Hey, Stein, where are you going?"

Stein had walked over to the door and was going to leave but Spirit had spotted him before he managed to slip away. "Just need to…dissect a few things…" He muttered, and then walked off.

Spirit shook his head in disgust. "That crazy guy. Thinking about dissecting things at a time like this! He really has a one-track mind…But, at least you and I can spend some quality time together now!" He glanced at his daughter. "Right, Maka?"

The girl turned away from him, saying, "I'd rather die."

Utterly depressed, Spirit exited the room to look for Stein.

* * *

Stein, however plausible it seemed for him to be dissecting things at this time, was actually headed to the library to search for more information regarding the Kishin's Shadow. He wasn't about to give up on this creature just yet.

There was a short and stocky librarian currently shelving books near the back of the enormous library. Stein walked over to him and asked, "Do you know if you happen to have any books about creatures such as the Kishin? Maybe there might be one written by the old Shinigami-sama?"

The librarian answered, "I will see what I can do for you, sir." He then went off to find something for Stein.

The professor briefly walked around the library, glancing at many shelves, but seeing nothing of any importance. Nothing looked like it would contain any information on the elusive Kishin's Shadow.

Only a short while had passed when the librarian ran back towards Stein, book in hand. "I'm sorry sir; this was all I could find. I'm sorry if it was not what you are looking for."

Stein glanced at the bulky book the man was carrying. It was entitled _Creatures of Madness_. Stein took the book from the man.

"This will do. Thanks."

"No problem, sir. I'm glad this is what you needed." The small librarian ran off to finish shelving the books he had been working on earlier.

Stein carefully flipped through the pages of the large and withered old book. All kinds of strange and horrendous looking creatures were depicted. Some were small and scaly, others were large and black. He noted that they were listed in alphabetical order. He quickly flipped to the K's. The first thing he saw was a page on the Kishin.

Stein gave a small laugh. "I think I know enough about that one." He flipped the page, and finally arrived at the page of the mysterious Kishin's Shadow. There was a crude sketch of the dark creature and a small chunk of writing.

"Ah, here it is." He leaned against the bookshelf behind him and began to read the page closely. At the top it simply said, 'Fear into pain and death into death'. _Hmm_, Stein wondered. He continued to read. It said:

'The Kishin's Shadow is an elusive creature; it usually appears after a Kishin has been defeated. It is the color of darkness and can take any form, though it usually takes one slightly resembling the Kishin. It is made up of the madness that had seeped out of a Kishin while it was alive. It is somewhat like an afterimage of the Kishin.'

_I knew that much already_, Stein thought.

'Kishin are actually meant to affect meisters more than weapons. It feels the need to strike the one attacking it directly, instead of aiming for the weapons, though it may attack them on occasion. However, the Kishin's Shadow tends to act in a manner almost opposite to that of the Kishin. It goes after the weapon opposing it. It feeds off the fear of the fear of the attacking meister, which doubles the power of its attacks, which in turn causes even more pain for the weapons of the meister.

_Explains why Soul was hurt while Maka was not._ Stein thought. _I guess Kid will be even safer now, though this does make me slightly more concerned over the safety of Liz and Patty. This also explains the whole 'fear into pain' thing at the top of the page, though I haven't figured out the 'death into death' part yet._

Stein continued to read the last part of the page, until he had finished it. _Wait, what?_ He thought. He reread the last paragraph.

"Oh god," He said aloud, finally processing what it meant. Folding over the top corner of the page to mark his spot, he slammed the book shut and ran out of the library, nearly knocking over Spirit in the process.

"Stein, I think-" Spirit began, but he was cut off.

"Spirit, we need to get them out of there! Fast! Kid and the girls are in serious trouble!"

"What…?" Spirit was very confused and it showed plainly on his face.

Stein reopened the old book to the page on the Kishin's Shadow and shoved the book at Spirit. Spirit grabbed it.

"Read the last paragraph." Stein demanded. Spirit began to read.

'The Kishin's Shadow tends to feed off not only fear but death itself. Any form of death, including Shinigamis and things like them, are drained until they fade away completely. If the attacking meister happens to be a Shinigami themselves, then it will not only decimate the meister, but be an extreme hindrance to their weapons too. The Kishin's Shadow feeds off the Shinigami, the personification of Death itself, and transforms it into death for the otherwise undefeatable Shinigami attacking it, and for their weapon as well. That is why the phrase most commonly associated with this creature is 'Fear into Pain and Death into Death'. This creature is best defeated by a direct attack with a soul wavelength and it is not advisable to fight this creature if you are linked to death in any way, for example a Shinigami or a death scythe.'

The page ended there. "We really screwed up." Spirit said.

"So, let's fix our mistake." Stein and Spirit went off to inform Maka and save Kid and the girls. Hopefully it wasn't already too late.

**A/N: So now you know more about the Kishin's Shadow. Hope it made sense, feel free to ask me any questions you have on the matter. :3 Ahh, sorry about that wall of text at the end there...didn't really intend on doing that...*sweatdrop*. Hopefully I'll update it again soon! Hope you enjoyed. Please read and review! And I love anyone who favorites or follows as well! :D Thanks guys, see you next chapter! :3 (I hope! XD)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: All for the Sake of Death

**A/N: Hi! :3 SL here. Thanks to everyone for your continued support! :D In this chapter, we go back to Kid and the girls. It takes place starting directly from where we last saw them, no timelapse. Enjoy! Here, have a tissue for the ride..*hands you a tissue*.**

"Ah… this is quite…an unpleasant feeling."

Death the Kid was having trouble standing upright. His thoughts were disorganized and he felt so off balance that he had a terrible stomachache.

"Hang in there, Kid! We'll get him." Liz coughed. She wasn't faring much better herself.

Kid dove to the ground once again to avoid another attack, but his reflexes were slowing and he got hit on his upper right arm, only adding to the asymmetrical feeling of the entire situation.

"Damn." Kid said again. He tried to regain a grip on the battle by blasting more shots at the Kishin's Shadow. Unfortunately, the powerful blasts still barely affected the creature. Kid ran behind the side of a nearby building, so he was temporarily out of the Shadow's range.

He stopped to contemplate the battle. Even after resonating with his weapons, their attacks seemed to have little to no affect on the creature. In addition, after he got hit anywhere he grew increasingly lethargic for no apparent reason. It grew harder and harder for Kid to even move. It was almost as if…as if it was draining the life right out of him.

"How are you girls holding up?" Kid glanced at his guns in concern.

"Okay." Patty said.

"Could be bette-KID, LOOK OUT!" Liz screamed, noticing the incoming blasts of the black blood substance coming at him in a rapid succession.

Kid jerked his head up; the Kishin's Shadow had found him. No rest for the weary. He twisted and dodged to the best of his abilities, then sprinted away from the Shadow so he would be in a better position to fight. He panted, feeling overwhelmingly winded. Why was he so incredibly tired? He took a good look at the guns in his hands, then at himself.

Liz was had the worst of it, a gash was visible on the weapon. Patty was a little cut up, but nothing critical. Kid then put a hand to his side, and it came away wet and sticky, a dark red substance coating his hands. He could feel the same substance slowly dripping down his face as well. Using the back of his hand he swiped it away.

Kid fired some more at the creature, even though it was pretty much pointless by now. Was there even a chance that they could still win this battle?

The Kishin's Shadow resembled a man in appearance but slithered around like a snake. Kid didn't know if it was getting faster or if he was just slowing down. He began panicking though, he had let his mind wander for only a moment and he lost sight of it.

"Where did it go?" He said aloud, his mind racing. It could be over there, it could be behind the building he had been near, it could be-

"BEHIND YOU!" Kid's thoughts were interrupted by a cry from both of his weapons at once. Kid spun around, the creature was no more than 2 feet away from him, about to send its final blow.

Kid knew with dread that this was it. This was the end. He barely had enough strength left to lift his arms, let alone run or block the inevitably oncoming attack. There was only one thing left for him to do. The creature began to move forward, and Kid tossed his weapons as far away from him as he could, considering the circumstances. If he was to die, there was no way in hell that he would let Liz and Patty come with him. He only wished he had enough strength left to toss them farther away so they wouldn't have to see what would happen to him.

Death. It was so strange to think that he was Death, an embodiment of Death, a Shinigami that was supposed to be immortal. But somehow he knew deep down that this attack had the power to finish him off. Death for Death. How strange. He almost mustered a laugh at the thought. But he was ready. He was prepared. He could almost see Shinigami-sama standing there, waiting for him.

"Father!" Kid cried out, he knew his mind must be playing tricks on him, but he went towards his father anyway. But Kid was surprised when he saw his dad shaking his head.

"No." Shinigami-sama said. "One day, Kid. One day, but it won't be today."

"What?" The thought shocked him back to reality, where he could see what was really happening for the few seconds that his mind had been allowed to wander.

There was the quick pounding of running feet, a flash of blond hair, arms spread wide that were meant to shield Kid as the Kishin's Shadow shot its arm forward fiercely in an attempt to finish him off.

"DAMMIT LIZ, NO!" He had never made a more desperate cry in his life. But it was already too late. He closed his eyes. There was a cry of pain, the splattering of a sticky substance on him, the heavy thud of a body falling to the ground.

Kid didn't want to open his eyes for fear of what he would see. It was better to be encased in darkness, to be blind to the world for a short time. In his mind there was no Kishin's Shadow. In his mind, Shinigami-sama, Liz, and Patty were alive and well. But we can't live our lives trapped within our minds. So he opened his eyes.

The Kishin's Shadow, thinking it had successfully landed a final blow, was nowhere to be seen. Liz was on the ground, a horrific amount of blood was everywhere. It appeared as if the shot of black blood had gone straight through her. The sight made Kid sick. He knelt down next to the girl, his eyes beginning to tear up. There was still a slight amount of life left in her.

"Liz, why…I was ready…I…I could've died…then…you and Patty would've been…safe." He could barely choke out what he wanted to say. He could hardly breathe, his chest was too tight.

"It's alright Kid." With the last of her strength, she reached out and stroked his cheek with her hand, wiping away any tears that had fallen. "Without you, I would've been dead anyway." He gently touched her hand, but it fell to the ground, and her bright blue eyes dimmed to a dull gray, the last speck of life leaving them.

As his tears continued to fall, he reminded himself that she wasn't completely gone. Not until her soul had been…her soul…His thoughts trailed off and he came to a startling realization.

_No. I refuse. I refuse. I won't do it!_ He thought defiantly. But all the world knew was that he was a Shinigami, so he had to collect souls. Even if it was the soul of someone he loved dearly. Time around him flowed to a stop and he could see a small blue orb floating in front of him, just as his father described. It was the soul he was supposed to collect. Liz's soul.

_Really? Why must I do this? Why_? He asked no one in particular.

He stared at it. _So this is a soul_. He had seen them countless times before but this one just seemed so beautiful, sitting there with a soft aqua light surrounding it.

_I can't do this._ He thought. _I can't be the one that takes her away._ But he then realized that maybe he didn't have to.

_I can refuse!_ He thought excitedly. Even though his father advised against it, it was still an option. Maybe he could refuse to collect her soul and she would be alive again? But this might throw off the balance of life and death, as his father had warned him.

He had a choice. He could collect her soul and let her go, or refuse to collect it and hope she would return to life, at the risk of throwing off the balance of life and death. He stood there, contemplating, weighing both the positives and negatives of both choices.

He nodded slightly, his face perfectly expressionless. He had made his decision.

**A/N: That was depressing for me to write. Please don't hate me. (I have a horrible feeling I'm gonna lose all my readers after this chapter.) :'( Hope you guys enjoyed. What will Kid's decision be? Review me what you think. Or just review my story, that's cool too. Favoriting and following are also much appreciated. Thank you all for reading. I hope you stick with me until the end. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Right Choice

**A/N: SL here! I'm back! :3 So sorry for the wait, guys! I went on a trip and had no writing time! :( Also, school's starting pretty soon, so I will have even less writing time...Oh well. Also sorry that this chapter is also a little shorter than others. In this chapter, Kid contemplates life and love and makes his decision. Enjoy! :3 R & R!**

Death the Kid stood there, contemplating. He would have to make an impossible choice. It seemed simple. Refuse to collect Liz's soul and have her return to life, or collect her soul and let her go. The first option seemed better at first glance, but there were deep consequences either way, making this an incredibly tough decision. Why was he forced to do this? But, more importantly, why was this so hard? Kid sat down, the light blue soul still floating before him, and began to really think.

He was a Shinigami. A grim reaper. A harbinger of death. He had known this for what seemed like his whole life. When his father had first told him about collecting souls, he had never really stopped to think that there might be a time he would actually want to refuse a soul. He had never thought this sort of thing could happen. It was stupid, really. He should have seen this coming.

"_It is essential that you never refuse to collect a soul, even if the person was a friend of yours. Understand? This will throw off the balance of life and death because of something selfish you refused to do. You must always collect the soul if the person has died. ALWAYS. Do you understand me, Kid?"_

"_Yes, Dad." Kid answered solemnly._

He was so carefree back then, never actually stopping to think what he would feel if a situation came to this. Kid sighed, and then thought, _'What exactly am I feeling?' _Kid locked his gazed onto the tiny orb floating in front of him. It was Liz. Or, everything that had made Liz, _Liz_, if that made sense. It was her mind, feelings, and personality all wrapped up in one tiny sphere which floated in front of him.

Liz was his weapon. No. Liz was his partner. No. He felt like there was a better term, but he just couldn't come up with it. Gazing at her soul he felt something new, an emotion he hadn't really felt before and had trouble naming.

Love? Was it really love? But Shinigamis can't love. Not in that way, anyway. Sure, Shinigamis can love in the way you might love a family member, or a friend, but not in the romantic way. This is because a Shingami's soul is created from a fragment of another Shinigami, so there is no need for them to be capable of love in the romantic way. But, the longer Kid stared at the soul, the more he became sure that this was what he was feeling. It figures that the first and only girl he loved would die. This thought brought him back on track. He still had a choice to make.

Say he chose to collect her soul, like a good Shinigami would. She would be dead, gone for good this time. But life would go on; it was just one more death in the world. Even if the person who died was someone he loved. Death kept life in balance. It was needed in the world.

But what would happen if he refused to collect her soul? First of all, his father had highly advised against it. Could he really disobey an order from his now dead father? Also, it was very selfish of him. The balance of life and death in the world would be completely screwed up all because of him. However, Liz would be brought back to life, which was a huge benefit. But wait…

He stopped and went over that last thought. Would that really bring her back to life? It was possible, but there was no way to know for sure. Then an even worse possibility struck him. What if, it failed to bring her back to life, and it took away Patty's soul too? That was one possibility he just could not risk. Patty was also very important to him, and that was something he could not overlook.

It seemed obvious now. There was only one thing for him to do. He had to make the right choice. Though it pained him, he had to let her go. He closed his eyes once more and recalled his father's words of how to collect a soul. He had never really collected one all by himself before.

"_Now this part is important, Kiddo, and I need you to pay close attention. This is how you collect souls. First, time will freeze for everyone but you, and you should be able to see the soul you need to collect clearly. Next, you walk towards it. Soon, you shouldn't be conscious of anything but you and the soul. Then, you take it and put it in your cloak. The soul should be absorbed directly into the cloak at first contact with it."_

Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the soul he had to collect. He looked at the beautiful aqua orb one last time before taking it in his hands. He tilted his head down, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"I' m sorry…" He whispered, as he held the soul over his heart and it absorbed into his cloak, gone from the world once and for all. He knew he had done the right thing, but he still felt an agonizing pain in his heart as the soul seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Slowly, his surroundings came back into focus and he was no longer stuck in his own personal world. He glanced around, seeing the ruins of buildings and dead bodies. The air was still thick the scent of madness as well, and darkness was everywhere. All because of that damned Kishin's Shadow. That monster would pay; he would make sure of it.

He didn't want to see her body again, but it was still there. It was hard to believe no time had passed when it felt like he had spent an eternity trying to make his choice. Liz's body was still sprawled awkwardly on the hard ground, her blood spilled all around her. Upon seeing it, Kid felt the finality of it all. His father was dead, the girl he loved was dead, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He had collected her soul and now she was really gone forever. But he would never forget her or the fact that she had saved his life.

"_We will always be here for you, Kid. Patty and I will always be here to help you out and fight with you or defend you, or whatever is needed…Never forget that, 'kay?"_

The grief he felt in that moment completely overwhelmed Kid. He fell to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

**A/N: Oh, the angst. :3 Btw, this story is not over yet! There are still a couple more chapters, so please, stick with me to the end! Kid still has to beat the Kishin's Shadow and you get to see the impact of his choice! :3 Interesting fact: (if anyone cares) this story was originally going to be just a oneshot with this chapter being the oneshot! :3 Oh and btw if there are any Dangan Ronpa fans out there, I'm writing a Dangan Ronpa/Soul Eater Crossover! It will be called Dangan Ronpa: Despairing Souls****, so keep an eye out for it, I'll post it sometime soon! :3 Bye! Review please! Thank you everyone! :3 **


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